Protest dismissed, ‘Investec’ is race winner

Lahana crossed the line in third place, more than six hours after Wild Oats XI, while Loki was fourth.

“It was one of the great experiences in my life,” Bell said. “The whole thing from the very start, right through to the finish line was exhilarating.”

The yachts remained in sight of each other in the final hours of the race, and were seldom separated by more than half a kilometer. Wild Oats XI set the race record in 2005 and showed greater speed at times, but Investec Loyal was able to cover its every move in the last 32km.

Coxon said credit for the win belonged to Investec Loyal’s navigator.

“The difference is a gentleman called Stan Honey,” he said. “He is an absolute legend, just amazing. His knowledge of weather and weather routing and the information he provides to me ... at the end of the day he is just so good.”

On the fourth day of racing, 11 yachts had finished and there had been 11 retirements from the original 88-yacht fleet that left Sydney Harbor on Monday.

The most illustrious finisher yesterday was 84-year-old skipper Syd Fischer’s Ragamuffin in 10th place. Fischer won line honors twice with a different version of Ragamuffin and has completed 43 Sydney to Hobart races.